Oolong knits

Hartland Cliffs by Sonja Bargielowska is a triangle shawl. Despite its sophistication, it is a free pattern. This lovely shawl is a very good example of multi-directional knitting and it looks a lot more complicated to work than it is (it involves no picked stitches or seams). Photo by Waxeli .

Bloody Cranesbill, also known as Geranium Sanguineum, is a hardy perennial plant that requires very little care. It is perfect for beddings as it gives plenty of flowers through out the summer, it has pretty palmate leaves, and it only reaches a height of about 20cm. Here is a link with a little more information.

Disgrace is a very hard read. Its main character, a white middle-aged South African man, is a despicable man, but what will happen to him during the course of this short novel is a lot more than he or anyone else deserves. Without giving much of the plot away, I will only say that a lot will happen to him and his once comfortable life will change dramatically and irrevocably for the much worse in a short period of time. In this sense, this a coming of age story. Not the traditional coming of age that corresponds to the transition from childhood to adulthood, but that of a middle-aged man who has lived a protected and privileged life so far, but, as he starts to enter old age, discovers the world is a cruel place to most people (and animals). In my view, Disgrace's main subject is white man's privilege and the loss of some of it in the contemporary world and specifically in post-apartheid South Africa. Sexual harassment, racial conflict, sexual identity, animal rights and land...

Amazing cables and some texture create a truly eye-catching sweater. Bright Sweater by Junko Okamoto. Another sweater, another Japanese designer.

Another sweater?! Yeah, I don't know what's up with me. I must be in sweater mood. Besides, they're so beautiful. Curvo by Sachiko Burgin is all about lovely smooth curves. It is unusual lines are obtained by knitting sideways.

See that stitch? (Click on the image to zoom in). Want to know how it is done? It is reverse stockinette, knitted alternately with two needles of very different sizes. Genius! Miss Bracken by Annie Rowden.

I discovered this interesting article by Iris Schreier. It gives a simple, very short introduction to multi-directional knitting. A different example of multi-directional knitting is given in this video tutorial (which is long and detailed and shows how to knit a scarf using this technique). The problem with the above video is that the two tips of the scarf look different, which is not very nice. There is however a very easy fix. The Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern by Karen Baumer does just that (and is a free Ravelry download). If you would like to add lace and texture to this scarf (an alternative to using self-striping yarn), check CurlyQueue's project notes .